Iowa has been the “king of corn” for almost two decades. In 2015, Iowa corn farmers grew 2.5 billion bushels of corn on 13 million acres of land. Iowa is also the number one pork producer in the U.S.

On this edition of Talk of Iowa, Charity Nebbe hosts a conversation exploring how Iowa became the agricultural powerhouse that it is today, as well as how farming has influenced Iowa's culture.

"There was a lot of shared work, both domestically and on the farm, that made you have to be friendly with your neighbors to survive and profit," says historian Leo Landis. "I think that does still shape us today as Iowans."

Guests joining the discussion include: Leo Landis, museum curator at the State Historical Museum of Iowa; Neil Hamilton, professor of law and director of the Agricultural Law Center at Drake University; Chad Hart, Iowa State University Extension crop economist; and Lee Schulz, Iowa State University Extension livestock economist.

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